The response received by the AlmaSADI battery tender It is unlikely to be replicated in the call for transmission for the AMBA I project in Argentina.
This is anticipated by the Argentine Chamber of Renewable Energies (CADER) , which views the first tender of the new electricity transport plan as a test to determine the extent of private interest in making long-term investments in the Argentine electricity grid.
“I understand that it won’t be an AlmaSADI-type tender, which was a boom of offers, but that there will be enough interested parties so that it won’t be left unawarded,” assured Marcelo Álvarez , president of CADER, in dialogue with Energía Estratégica .
There are numbers behind this. AlmaSADI initially received 235 technical bids from 37 companies for more than 8300 MW , compared to a target of only 700 MW for new capacity.
Following the evaluation, 232 projects totaling 8230 MW reached the economic opening stage, and finally 20 projects from five companies totaling 700.5 MW were awarded, with an estimated investment of USD 700 million.
AMBA I presents a different equation. The national and international tender includes the construction, operation, and maintenance of an infrastructure estimated at USD 800 million , with approximately 270 kilometers of lines at 500, 220, and 132 kV, a new transformer station in Plomer, and complementary works. Its implementation should increase the metropolitan area's supply capacity by around 2000 MW .
Furthermore, the contract stipulates a construction period of up to 52 months , while the return on investment will extend throughout the concession period. The structure includes a potential guarantee from the Inter-American Development Bank for up to 25 years, intended to cover up to six months of the concessionaire's remuneration, in addition to the possibility for the winning bidder to apply for membership in the RIGI (Integrated Regime of Public Investment).
“The chosen bidding model generates significant private risk and is concentrated among not so many players in the local area,” Álvarez said.
He added: “The most difficult thing is when you sink the investment and don't amortize it within the current government's term, whether it's this one or the next, and you have to recover the investment over very long periods. Vulnerability in Argentina is high.”
AMBA I as a test for the other 15 projects
For CADER, what happens in this call for proposals will have relevance beyond the expansion of the metropolitan system.
“AMBA I is a laboratory that will see how many companies submit bids, whether they condition their offers, and the questions or suggestions they make during the bidding process on the street,” Álvarez said.
The first concrete indicator will arrive around the first half of December, when the presentation and opening of Envelope No. 1, corresponding to the technical and financial evaluation, is scheduled. The financial bid opening and awarding of the contract should be completed by early 2027.
The experience will be particularly relevant because AMBA I inaugurates a much larger program. The National Electric Transport Expansion Plan comprises 16 projects, over USD 6.6 billion in investment, and 5,610 kilometers of new 500 kV lines .
Given that scale, Álvarez believes that moving forward successively with individual processes might not be enough to recover the infrastructure deficit.
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“Given that the works, between bidding, awarding, signing of contract, financing and execution, have been optimistic for five years, it is necessary to bid in a more grouped manner,” he stated.
According to Álvarez, the AMBA I scheme inherently limits the number of local actors with the financial and technical capacity to undertake a project of this magnitude. CADER believes this limitation should be taken into account when designing future calls for proposals.
“This would also generate interest from foreign groups, who probably won't come solely for the AMBA I section, but who, if several of the 16 planned sections were grouped together, might find them attractive. That would generate greater competition and could lower prices,” he explained.
Transmission to reopen space for renewables
The sequence of upcoming tenders will also be crucial for renewable energy expansion. Among the first projects the government has defined as priorities, along with AMBA I, are the 500 kV Río Diamante–Charlone–O'Higgins line , intended to expand the evacuation of generation capacity in Cuyo and part of Comahue, and the Puerto Madryn–Choele Choel–Bahía Blanca Southern Corridor , which will strengthen Patagonia's connection to the main grid.
The latter already took an additional administrative step in July with the environmental and social consultation process. The project comprises two 500 kV extra-high voltage lines—Puerto Madryn–Choele Choel and Choele Choel–Bahía Blanca—and expansions at the three transformer substations involved.
“The sections we need are those that open the way to wind energy in Patagonia and the south of the province of Buenos Aires, and those linked to the NOA and Cuyo ring,” Álvarez pointed out.
The official list of the 16 projects also includes corridors such as Rodeo–Chaparro–La Rioja Sur, Lavalle–Chumbicha and Chaparro–Antofagasta de la Sierra–Punta Cobos , in addition to other expansions in Patagonia, Buenos Aires, Central and NEA.
According to the president of CADER, the lack of available capacity is forcing a shift in some renewable growth towards other segments.
“There is still some MATER left, because some nodes that are currently reserved will be released and re-tendered, but MATER is on its way out since there is very little capacity available,” he warned.
In that scenario, it projects that over the next five years, demand from mining—through on-grid, off-grid and hybrid projects—and generation connected directly to distribution networks, including PPAs with large users, distributors and cooperatives, will gain weight.
The scale of the response to AMBA I will now reveal whether the scheme designed to reactivate transmission has the capacity to scale from an initial project of USD 800 million to a portfolio exceeding USD 6.6 billion. For CADER, the next challenge will be to ensure that this test does not become a series of isolated tenders, but rather the starting point for accelerating the corridors that currently hinder the integration of new generation capacity.
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Strategic Energy will be present at Intersolar
LATAM is going through a key moment for the expansion of renewable energies, driven by new regulatory challenges, the growth of electricity demand and the development of storage.
In this context, Energía Estratégica will be present at two of the leading solar industry events in Latin America: The Smarter E South America, from August 25 to 27 in São Paulo, Brazil, and Intersolar Mexico, from September 1 to 3 in Mexico City . From both events, the publication will provide special coverage with exclusive interviews, regulatory analysis, and the key developments that will shape the future of regional markets.